ORLANDO, Fla. – Nov. 30, 2012 – Citizens Property Insurance Corp., which writes 8,000 new policies each week, will soon do a better job funneling policies into the private market, the state-backed insurer’s president promised Florida business leaders Thursday.

Speaking at a Florida Chamber of Commerce insurance summit, Citizens President Barry Gilway said he would brief Citizens’ board of governors in December about an effort to place policies with private carriers before Citizens issues a policy.

Gilway said the company must be aggressive when brokering policies because most Citizens policyholders don’t realize that their lower monthly premiums are offset by assessments that would be levied on their policies after a major storm.

“I think there is a way … to come up with an overall concept and approach that basically makes sure that every single policy gets shopped to every interested company before it enters the system,” Gilway said.

However, Gilway said that Citizens’ lower rates would continue to drive customers to the company, even if Citizens’ coverage isn’t as good as most of its competitors.

“We’ve got the worst coverage in the marketplace,” Gilway said. “That’s by design. Is that stopping 8,000 policies a week coming through our front door? It’s not.”

As the state’s largest private insurer with nearly 1.5 million policies, Citizens has been under increasing pressure from lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott to reduce its role. In response, the insurer has rolled back coverage protections and reduced discounts to homeowners who make hurricane improvements. The brokering program is the latest in a series of steps being taken by the agency to limit its exposure.

For example, the company’s underwriting committee rejected a proposal to reinstate coverage that was discontinued for secondary structures such as screened porches and detached buildings. Some policyholders have complained that the lack of coverage is preventing them from locating their mobile homes in certain communities.

Source: News Service of Florida, Michael Peltier